Books read in July

Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson--I said last month that she was one of my favorite "fluff" authors, but I am going to have to revise my opinion. I did not enjoy this book. Why? Because it pushed my credulity right over the edge, that's why. All the books in this series supposedly take place across a 4-5 year time span (as evidenced by the age of the son). Now, how many dead bodies does the average person discover in any four year period? And of that number, how many are murder victims? Right, that's what I thought, too.

Anielka by Bolesław Prus--finished!!!! The first complete book I ever read in Polish, but not the last...

W Pustyni i w Puszczy by Henryk Sienkiewicz--only the first few chapters, just because I've been busy with other things and not spending as much time reading Polish. I plan to be more diligent with it in August.

Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary--nothing like kiddie lit for vegging out.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee--a reread, but it's been a long, long time. This time, I felt myself identifying most with Atticus. How very, very difficult to raise your children without prejudice and rancor when those attitudes are entrenched in society.

The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder--I already wrote about this one. Now I have read all of Gaarder's books that have been translated into English so far. There is at least one that I have seen in Polish but not in English...I may have to read it in Polish if I can find it again...

Tomorrow Will Be Better by Betty Smith--I already wrote about this one, too, but not liking this book doesn't change the fact that I think Betty Smith is a fabulous author (with an incredibly boring name). (I can say that because my maiden name was Smith, too.)

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark--This book deserves a post of its own, so perhaps I'll say more about it later.

A Daughter's a Daughter and Unfinished Portrait by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott--when I was sick and needed light reading, I made it through both of these in just a couple of days. Another future blog post: "Agatha Christie on education." These are nothing like her mystery novels.

Dancing Shoes by Noel Streatfield--more kiddie lit! I bought this for my daughter's upcoming birthday, and since I hadn't read it before, I had to read it first, right?

And of course...

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy--I'm halfway through now, and thoroughly engaged by the story. I'll have more to say about this in August.

I had thought that I didn't get much reading done in July. I didn't feel as if I'd had much time to read. But clearly, I read quite a lot. I didn't do much during the first part of July, but then the second half of the month I was sort of sick and we went away for a few days to the country, so I guess I made up for it then!

Reading plans for August: finish War and Peace, spend more time on my Polish book, and, um...get busy with school planning. One thing that is obvious from this month's reading is that I devoted most of my reading time to fiction. It's time to get busy with the non-fiction books now.